1 pound mini penne (the finished dish is so much easier to eat this way)

¼ cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley

1 Stick unsalted butter

½ cup flour

4 cups milk (2 percent or even one percent—not skim)

Nutmeg

1 cup parmesan

½ cup parmesan

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Season the lamb with salt and pepper.

In a large Dutch oven coat the lamb with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and place in the oven (uncovered) until the lamb cubes are browned. This may required a few stirrings throughout the roasting process. This may take 40-60 minutes. When the lamb is browned take the pan out of the oven and remove the lamb to a dish and allow the pan to cool. Blot up the grease in the pan with paper towels and discard. (I do this in the oven because browning lamb on the stove top is a major mess).

Place the pan over med heat and add two tablespoons of fresh olive oil and add all of the vegetables and garlic. Season with salt and pepper again. Sweat over the medium heat, covered for about 2-3 minutes and then remove the cover and continue to cook until limp and slightly colored (about 5 minutes).

Add the Allspice and cook for a minute or two so that the Allspice releases its flavor and scent. Add the tomato paste and fry for a minute or so.

Remove from heat and add the wine and the balsamic. Return to heat. Simmer for about 2-3 minutes to cook out the alcohol.

Add the tomatoes, the lamb cubes and about 1 cup of water (remember you’re making a stew so give or take and use your instinct—adjust as you go along), and the bay leaf. Cover and simmer over low heat for 2 to 2.5 hours. The lamb should be falling apart after the stewing and there should be a total of about 4-5 cups of sauce and lamb. Adjust the seasoning along the way but watch your salt because we are adding cheese later.

Let cool. Cover, and refrigerate. Remove from fridge after an overnight chill (or 2-3 hours) and remove the fat that has solidified on top. Remove bay leaf.

Take each piece of meat and shred with two forks. Return to pot. If you feel that the stew is a little dense you can add some water at this point. Reheat the stew over medium heat.

Boil 1 pound of penne (small penne) noodles in salted water. Boil until al dente because they will cook in the oven as well. Drain. Mix in with the sauce. Add one cup grated Gruyere cheese and stir. Add parsley and stir well. Check for seasoning again and adjust with salt and pepper.

Butter a 9 by 13 dish and add the pasta mixture and spread out.

Melt 1 stick of sweet butter and ½ cup of flour together. Add 4 cups of milk, slowly, salt and pepper and a nice grinding of nutmeg. Watch the salt again because we are adding parmesan to this later. Stir with a whisk and let it bubble for a few minutes to cook the flour out. Turn off heat. Add 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese. Taste and check for seasoning. Adjust.

Pour over the noodles, spread out and then sprinkle ½ cup of parmesan over the top.

Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes until bubbly and brown. Remove from oven. Cool and serve in squares at room temp or even slightly warm.

Enjoy

Tip: If you cannot find lamb shoulder, and you use cubes from the leg, the stewing time will go up about an hour because it will take longer for the muscular lamb leg to fall apart.

Tip: Using the aromatics of onion, garlic, celery and carrot round out this stew and add multiple layers of flavor. Along with the tomato paste and bay leaf, the resulting stew has no resemblance to a typical pasticcio.

Tip: Overnight chill in the refrigerator is essential but 2-3 hours should do it. The degreasing which is required cleans up the flavor of the lamb.

Tip: If you have a parmesan cheese rind, a small piece maybe 2 inches by 2 inches, you may add it to the stew while it is cooking. This adds wonderful flavor.

That line was uttered by my mother and accompanied by her slowly making the sign of the cross, in a most dramatic fashion, as she often did when she heard something she thought utterly preposterous. I replied, “I didn’t say I didn’t like your potato salad, ma, rather I said I didn’t like any potato salad.”

“But, the world goes crrrrazzzzy for my potato salad” (Insert thick Greek accent with appropriate r and z rollings of the tongue). It’s a vignette that Rand and I have played out countless times, and it never ceases to make us chuckle.

Actually, her potato salad is quite good. I just can’t get past using mayonnaise by itself as a dressing for any type of salad. Mayonnaise based salads make me choke with that cloying taste which never seems to clear your tongue. Whether it’s chicken salad or lobster salad or potato salad, store bought mayo is too thick, too rich and too much.

Better I think to combine equal parts sour cream and mayonnaise with a little buttermilk for texture. Season liberally with salt and pepper and this “souraise” will coat any salad with a true dressing, sure to leave the tongue with a pleasant tang. I love it.